'88 Cirrus M30B35 sedan

[lukeADE335i]

Awesome - yes - when I get a chance to build a new shed at home I'm hoping to make it tall enough to fit a full car hoist to make tinkering with my cars easier.

[Bearmw]

They sure do. A friend of mine earler today trailered home (160 miles) a brand new full car lift with his e34 535i.

[lukeADE335i]

Given the tractor engine in my car, I thought I'd put it to good use and even out the weight distribution at the same time. Maybe I'm approaching 50/50 now ;)



More seriously though... I managed to pick up a factory tow kit off eBay - it bolted straight up with minimal drilling & I must say the M30 pulls trailers rather well :)

[TimeMachinE30]

Nice car. Thanks for the manifold details.

[lukeADE335i]

Thanks Gould! 320i's are ideal for this swap :)

[Gould]

Beautiful car! Thinking i should find an M30 swap for mine

[lukeADE335i]

After driving the car for about a month now with the LSD, I have to say that an LSD should be considered essential with an M30 swap.

Driving in the rain is now surefooted and feels like a factory offering would, where as before the car was a bit of a handful in the wet - both from a standing start & when turning across traffic. More than happy with the result.

[lukeADE335i]

Quick update:

I fitted up a 3.25 LSD to the car today - have now run it with 3 diff ratios - a 3.73, 3.46 and now the 3.25.

As many have reported previously, I have to agree - the 3.25 is a great ratio for a daily driven M30 swapped e30. The 3.73 is lots of fun with the M30 if you are using the car as a weekender, but the 3.25 still has plenty of grunt, and is nice and quiet on the cruise. The 3.46 is somewhere in-between, but I think I prefer the 3.25.

The LSD is putting down the power much better out of corners vs. my previous open diffs too :)

[e30m3s54turbo]

Really nice e30. I like the m30 swap!!!!

[lukeADE335i]

Nice ride. Off topic, do you know if Alpina BMS in Australia is still in business? They have a website from Australia but cant tell if its current.

On BMWforums.com.au there was a discussion on them recently. They are still in business, they don't have any formal ties with Alpina any more.

They seem to have an inventory of NOS Alpina parts that they are running down, so they do have some parts.

[lukeADE335i]

Yes - I used stock e34 exhaust manifolds. I had the flange on the front manifold cut and rotated 90 degrees for extra clearance. I then used the e34 down pipes, and cut them just after the point where they bend underneath the floorpan. No denting the floorpan, or adjusting the lollypop required (the lollypop heat shield even still fits).

[CorvallisBMW]

Very nce! hows the steering shaft clearance with the m30 exhaust? Were yoy able to use OEM manifolds and downpipes?

[portlandsteve]

Australia Alpina

Nice ride. Off topic, do you know if Alpina BMS in Australia is still in business? They have a website from Australia but cant tell if its current.

[marshallnoise]

Haha sandbagger Luke!

[lukeADE335i]

Thanks Anthony.

Yes - I surprise many a SSV and XR8 driver. Back when I had the 3.73 diff in the car, an VE SS tried to gun it in front of me from the lights on one of our suburban highways, and sat next to him up to around 100km/h (then let him in) at the next set of lights he pulled up next to me, wound down the window and asked me what was in the car... I shrugged and said it's a 320i, a 2 litre I guess :p